One Of A Kind
by XxXxSlytherinPrincessxXxX
Summary: When fate keeps pushing Hermione Granger and a mystery man together, the Muggle-born seeks the help and advice of an old wizard but soon uncovers that it was more than just fate that brought them together. An old flame wants her back...but she doesn't!R
1. Don't Stop The Music

One Of A Kind

**One Of A Kind**

**AN: Every chapter is like a songfic…It doesn't necessarily follow the story line, but it has something to do with the chapter.**

**Chapter 1 – Don't Stop The Music**

Hermione gently combed through her silky brown hair. She styled it into a glamorous messy bun and applied shiny purple eye-shadow to her eyelids and a glittery pink lip gloss. It matched her violet cocktail dress perfectly. She heard an indistinct voice call her from the floor below and a faint smile played at her sparkling lips.

For the first time since the war ended two years ago, Hermione and her best friend, Joanna, were going for a party. It was Joanna's boyfriend's 19th birthday and he was having a huge disco with over 100 people. It wasn't just any disco, it was a masked-disco. Hermione quickly brushed some blush on her soft cheeks, put on her highest purple heels and half-ran down the stairs where Joanna was waiting by the door.

Hermione was highly impressed with the way Joanna was dressed, normally she was a tiny bit of a tomboy, but if you looked at the amount of makeup she put on, you'd think she was the type of girl who'd scream and cry if she broke a nail.

Joanna's hair long wavy blonde hair was held up with a silver jaw-clip. Her long pink gown reached the tip of her red 4-inch high heels. She just about had pink-everything, pink eye-shadow, pink eyeliner (disgusting…), pink blush, pink lipstick, pink necklace and pink bracelets. But you can't really blame her; she's never dressed up so much. Hermione knew she had a LOT to teach her before the next party.

Hermione drifted her eyes to the brown chest of drawers next to the door. It had to eye-masks on it, a glittery pink one (obviously Joanna's) and an elegant indigo mask belonging to Hermione. It didn't really match her dress, but she thought it looked nice.

She picked up her mask and placed it neatly over her eyes; she pulled the string back over her head and adjusted it so she could see everything through the eyeholes. She watched Joanna follow suit.

'Shall we go?' Hermione asked. Joanna nodded and they both left the house.

Hermione suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of a long pink (duh) stretch limo.

She started stuttering like she had never before.

'Joanna! Oh my, this is – this is – this is–'

'Oh, think nothing of it. It's my early Christmas present to…us," Joanna joked, "Well, mostly you. I've still got a few of my own back home,'

Something rather vital that I forgot to mention is that Joanna Beryl is rich…stinking rich. She gets a thousand dollars a week for her pocket money…plus, every time she does her homework, she gets a hundred dollars. To her parents, giving a thousand dollars to charity is 'hardly a generous donation'.

It's crazy, really. But luckily for Hermione, Joanna isn't one of those girls who boast and brag about how much money they have. Joanna gives away gifts (such as stretch limos) as if they were glitter pens. She's amazing, she's honest, truthful, kind and caring…and smart.

But the fact that Joanna just practically 'gave' Hermione a stretch limo wasn't why she was gaping. Sure she was amazed, and shocked, but Hermione was also disgusted. Very, very disgusted.

'Joanna how could you?!'

'What are you talking about?' you could tell that Joanna was highly offended, it's not everyday that you get a limo with a personal chauffer as an early Christmas present…

'_That's_ what I'm talking about,' Hermione pointed to the person, or elf, which was standing next to the driver's door. He was wearing as suit, really, tie and all.

Joanna instantly felt incredibly stupid, she knew very well that Hermione never really got over the whole 'elf abuse' thing. In fact, she is still handing out the S.P.E.W. badges at the Ministry.

'Oh come on Hermione! Just this once? It'll never happen again I promise!'

'That's what you said when you sent an elf to deliver my birthday present because you had a horrid cold and you parents wouldn't let you leave the house,'

'Well what d'you think I'd do? Would you send one of _your_ parents to go send a birthday present as if they were your slaves?'

'No, of course not, but that didn't mean that elves are your slaves either,'

'You're right, they're not. They're just…helpers, in this case, Kodi here is just trying to _help_ us get to the party so we don't have to walk all the way. He didn't spend three years trying to learn how to drive the 'Muggle' way for nothing you know.'

'Yes…but still. It's wrong; it just won't feel right,'

'Please Hermione, I know just as well as you do that you do NOT want to walk 5 miles. Just this once?' Joanna pleaded.

'Urgh, fine,' Hermione trudged over to the car and watched regrettably as Kodi 'insisted' on opening the door for her. She slid in to the window at the far right window.

She had to admit, she was impressed. Directly in front of her was a small tv which had every channel there was in the world…apparently. Next to that was a mini refrigerator which , when she opened it she found out, had two loafs of bread, the most expensive and best tasting cheese in Europe, loads of ice cream and cakes, cream caramel mustard, every meat you could think of and more! Next to that was a tiny wooden table with a microwave and oven on it. _Probably for the ready-made things_ Hermione thought.

She suddenly felt a lurch in her stomach as the limo accelerated at 80 km/hour. Despite the fact that Hermione grew up in a Muggle world with Muggle parents, she never got around to getting used to cars. She hated it like anything; it made her want to vomit everywhere, and once she actually did puke…and all over her cousin (Caleb) when he came to visit. It didn't make it much better knowing that an elf was driving this particular car and if he got stopped by a police car because of speeding then Hermione and Joanna would have a LOT of explaining to do.

The car ride didn't go on for anymore than 10 minutes (without incident) and throughout the entire thing, the two girls sitting in the backseat didn't utter a single word. When the elf finally announced that they had reached, Hermione felt like her stomach had settled again. She quickly opened the passenger door and left the car without a moment's hesitation. Hermione waited patiently by the bouncer who was guarding the door to the disco. When Joanna finally caught up with the highly nauseous girl, she showed the huge bouncer their two invitations and he let them pass.

Hermione and Joanna gasped when they entered the disco. There were loads of people; way more than a hundred…and they were 5 minutes EARLY!

Joanna scanned the room. She saw a 10-seater table on which her boyfriend had already taken a seat on. Next to him were two other boys who she didn't recognise, mostly because of their masks. She grabbed Hermione's hand and rushed to the table. She sat next to her boyfriend and kissed his cheek.

'Happy birthday sweetheart!' she exclaimed.

'Hey David, happy 19th birthday,' Hermione smiled at him.

'Thanks. So, what do you think of the party?' David asked.

'We just got here! But so far it's amazing! There are so many people!' Joanna said.

'Yes well, my parents spent a fortune on this. My little brother, Joey got so jealous, it was a riot seeing him get all huffy and annoyed whenever we discussed the party in front of him. Then he cross his arms and his face would turn red like a tomato, and then he'd just stomp out of the room.' David took Joanna hand. 'You wanna dance?'

'Well…' Joanna glanced back at Hermione. She obviously didn't want to leave her alone. Even if she did know anyone at the party, she wouldn't be able to tell who was who.

'Its okay, it's okay. Go ahead, have fun, make the birthday boy happy.' Hermione waved her hand dismissively. She grinned as she saw David take Joanna to the dance floor. Just like any other Cinderella story, when David and Joanna started dancing, a huge circle formed around them and the spotlight was shining directly at them.

Hermione laughed silently at the irony of it all. Her smile didn't last long though. After a few minutes she got bored of watching her best friend dance. She stared aimlessly at her perfectly painted fingernails.

_Please don't stop the music  
Please don't stop the music  
Please don't stop the music  
Please don't stop the music_

It took a while to realise that someone was standing right in front of her with his arm stretched out towards her. She looked up and figured out that he was asking her to dance. This man whoever he was, was clearly deluded, he obviously didn't know who she was. All the same, she let him learn the hard way that there's a reason that boyfriends don't last long in her life. She placed her hand in his and let him take her to the dance floor. She suddenly felt a tingle, kind of like a not-so-painful shock, a spark if you will. She had a 2 second flashback of her third year. Just when she had found out about Buckbeak being sentenced to death, she heard Draco Malfoy sniggering about it to his 'friends'. She marched right up to him and punched him in the nose as hard as possible. For the nano-second that it lasted, she had felt the same tingling feeling, she thought for a second that the man standing before her now could possibly be…_no, no way!_ She quickly brushed away the idea that she was about to dance with the second person she hates most in the world.

The mystifying masked man put his hands on her waist and she put hers on his shoulders. They slowly rocked to the soft music.

_It's gettin late  
I'm making my way over to my favorite place  
I gotta get my body moving shake the stress away  
I wasn't looking for nobody when you looked my way  
Possible candidate (yeah)  
Who knew  
That you'd be up in here lookin like you do  
You're makin' stayin' over here impossible  
Baby I must say your aura is incredible  
If you dont have to go don't_

After a few minutes of silent dancing he said: 'You're quite a good dancer you know?' Hermione blushed; it's been years since a guy complimented her. He used a completely fake thick British accent. He was obviously trying to hide his identity.

Using the same accent, she replied: 'Thanks, you're not so bad yourself,' the rest of the dance went on without a word being spoken from either of them. They just kept on gazing into each other's eyes.

_Do you know what you started  
I just came here to party  
But now we're rockin on the dancefloor  
Acting naughty  
Your hands around my waist  
Just let the music play  
We're hand in hand  
Chest to chest  
And now we're face to face_

After what Hermione thought was only a few minutes, she glanced at her watch and realised that a whole two hours had passed since she had arrived! She had no idea that so much time had gone by since she started dancing with the mystery boy who had stupidly asked to dance with her. She smiled shyly and rested her head on his shoulder. In a second the music took a sudden change and instantly turned into 'Don't Stop the Music' by Rihanna.

The mystery man took her hands off his shoulders and started freestyle dancing. Hermione just stood there watching him and laughing. For a second her smile faltered, she could've sworn that saw a strand of _platinum-blonde_ hair fall on his face. But no sooner had she seen it then it had gone. She decided that the disco ball must've just created that illusion.

_I wanna take you away  
Lets escape into the music  
DJ let it play  
I just can't refuse it  
Like the way you do this  
Keep on rockin to it  
Please don't stop the  
Please don't stop the music_

She stared swaying with the music; she clapped as the masked dancer did a backward flip and landed right in front of her. She could feel his hot breath on her skin. He was panting…a lot. He took her hands in his and started dancing with a very pleased, shocked, embarrassed and happy Hermione Granger.

_Baby are you ready cause its getting close  
Don't you feel the passion ready to explode  
What goes on between us no one has to know  
This is a private show (oh)_

Do you know what you started  
I just came here to party  
But now we're rockin on the dancefloor  
Acting naughty  
Your hands around my waist  
Just let the music play  
We're hand in hand  
Chest to chest  
And now we're face to face

Hermione was highly surprised with herself. For the first time in months, maybe even years, she was finally enjoying herself…and with a boy. This guy was maybe stupid enough to ask her to dance, but this guy was an excellent dancer. He sent the heebie-jeebies through her spine…but in a good way.

_I wanna take you away  
Lets escape into the music  
DJ let it play  
I just can't refuse it  
Like the way you do this  
Keep on rockin to it  
Please don't stop the  
Please don't stop the music_

The music ended and a slow song started. There were a few groans amongst the crowd, but Hermione and the unknown man just kept dancing, staring into each other's eyes as if trying to uncover the truth about their identities. A few minutes later, Hermione's dance partner took her hands off his shoulders and kissed one of them.

'I am sorry, I must go now,' he apologised.

'But…!' but Hermione was too late. She watched hopelessly as he disappeared into the crowd.

**AN: So what do you think? Please R&R and try not to be too harsh **


	2. Dreamer

One of a Kind

**One of a Kind**

AN: Please review more guys. I know that this isn't one of my best stories so far…but still. I hope you like the next chapter and please R&R

**Chapter 2 – Dreamer**

_His soft warm lips brushed against mine. His hands on my waist, his hips swaying to the soft music. He lifts the mask off my face; sure it was against the rules, but whatever. His eyes suddenly soften; he looks behind his shoulder and casts an 'I told you so' look at a masked boy sitting alone at a table who looked to be about my age._

_He grins at me, he starts saying a sentence with what I think is his real voice, I feel like I've heard it before, but I can't pinpoint where. Then he quickly changes his accent, 'I knew it was you, Hermione,'_

_I feel my cheeks turning red, I don't know why, but I instantly blush. The way he says it, it makes it sound like a compliment, but it could just as well be an insult._

_I reach for his golden hawk-like mask. I'm just about to take it off when…_

Hermione's eyes shoot open. She realises that she's lying down, and she has no idea why. She looked down on her body, she was in her nightgown and on her bed…she was dreaming.

_Gazing through the window at the world outside  
Wondering if mother earth will survive  
Hoping that mankind will stop abusing her, sometime_

After all theres just the two of us  
And here we are still fighting for our lives  
Watching all of history repeat itself, time after time

Hermione groaned and slowly picked herself up. She trodged over to her window and rested her elbow on the sill, she stared out onto the most picturesque landscape of London. There were a few farms here and there, but it was mostly just mountains with beautiful evergreen trees. How she wished that she wasn't just dreaming, she knew that figuring out who she danced with the night before, who made her feel so loved and special, was going to drive her crazy.

She made her way to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and went downstairs to eat breakfast. She was surprised to see that Joanna was already at the dining table, munching away happily at her cereal. Hermione was shocked to see her because normally Joanna wasn't much of an early bidder. In fact, the earliest time she gets up on a weekend morning, if she can help it, is at 11:30 am. It's crazy, but true.

'Hey, how come you're up so early?' Hermione asked, completely flummoxed.

Joanna spat out the mouthful of cereal that she had just eaten. 'Are you crazy?! Are you insanely out of you're mind? It's 12:44 pm and you're asking why I'm up EARLY?!'

Hermione was utterly shocked. This was the first time in years that she's woken up after 10 pm.

_Im just a dreamer, I dream my life away  
Im just a dreamer, who dreams of better days_

I watch the sun go down like everyone of us  
Im hoping that the dawn will bring a sign  
A better place for those who will come after us this time

'Wait, are you serious??'

'No.'

'Oh,'

'I'm Joanna,'

'Shut up,' Hermione nudged her playfully on the arm and made her own cereal.

The brown haired Muggle-born sighed as she moved around the coco balls around in the milk with her spoon.

'You're still thinking about him, aren't you?' Joanna asked, knowingly.

'Who?'

'Don't act dumb, Hermione. I've been you're best friend for years. I mean the guy who asked you to dance last night. You've been dreaming about him since you fell asleep,'

'How do you know that?'

Joanna coughed theatrically, 'Ahem, quote from you're sleep-talking: "(male voice) Hermione, I knew it was you, I can't believe I finally get to be with you without anyone else caring, or even knowing. Finally," (imitation of Hermione's voice) "Can't you just give me a peek? I want to know who you are! I want to know who makes me feel so loved, so special, so cared for…"' Joanna stuck out her tongue disgustedly.

Hermione giggled. 'Okay, so what if I'm thinking about him? Can you blame me? He was amazing last night, seriously. I felt wonderful, he's a great dancer. I just wish I knew who he was. Now I'm going to be determined to find him. My dream last night _will_ come true.'

_I'm just a dreamer  
I dream my life away, oh yeah  
I'm just a dreamer  
Who dreams of better days_

Your higher power may be God or _Jesus Christ__  
It doesn't really matter much to me  
Without each others help there ain't no hope for us  
I'm living in a dream of __fantasy__, oh yeah yeah yeah_

'Fine, whatever, they're your dreams, your crazy fantasies. But today afternoon can you come to Diagon Alley with me please? David's actual birthday is tomorrow and I completely forgot to buy him a present and so I'm gonna get him one today. If you're not doing anything, can you come with me?'

Hermione hesitated. She was going to perform some spells on uncovering identities, but Joanna comes first before some hot dancer who swept her off her feet the previous night.

'Yeah, sure, what time?'

'Umm, we can leave at 2:25 so we'll reach at around 3,'

''Kay, aren't you going over to David's now?'

'Yeah, in a few minutes, I'll just finish my breakfast first,'

Hermione started playing around with her food again.

_If only we could all just find serenity  
It would be nice if we could live as one  
When will all this anger hate and bigotry be done_

I'm just a dreamer  
I dream my life away, today  
I'm just a dreamer  
Who dreams of better days, oh yeah

'Man, you really are completely goo-goo over this guy. I'd like to meet him,'

'Hah, fat chance. I have an annoying feeling that last night was a one-time thing. I hope I'll see him again soon, but I doubt it.' Hermione sighed and rested her chin on the back of her hand.

'Well,' Joanna propped her feet up on the table, 'If you want my opinion…'

'Oh no,' Hermione groaned. Here comes Doctor. I-Don't-Know-Anything-About-Anything-I-Am-Just-Trying-To-Make-You-Feel-Better, wonderful.

'That's alright, Joe, I'm good. I can live without your 'opinion''

'No, no. I insist,' Joanna insisted.

'But really,' Hermione protested.

Joanna held up her hand. Hermione piped down and reluctantly let Joanna trail on about what she thought Hermione should do.

'I think that if you really think that you'll never see this guy again then you should just forget about him. He's not worth it, if he has the gall to be all lovey-dovey with you and then never see you again, he's a pathetic jerk who you shouldn't give a second thought about,'

Hermione felt anger welling up inside her, who was Joanna to say that Hermione's masked prince was a pathetic jerk? She doesn't even know him, well, technically Hermione didn't either. But she knew that he wasn't trying to drive her mad.

_I'm just a dreamer  
Who's searching for the way, today  
I'm just a dreamer  
Dreaming my life away, oh yeah yeah yeah_

But she held it in, Hermione was sure that Joanna didn't mean to offend her.

Joanna checked her watch. 'Ooh! I got to go now! Bye, see you this afternoon!' Joanna grabbed her shoulder bag which was hanging on the chair and ran out the front door.

Hermione watched her leave and slowly made her way up to her room. She pulled open her cupboard to reveal her Pensieve.

The previous night she had filled it up with her memories of dancing with her mystery man. Hermione looked over it again.

After watching the scene at least 5 times, she finally spotted something, just as she thought last night, it could very well be the trick of the light, but Hermione thought different; several times during the night, a strand of _platinum_ blonde hair would fall over his mask. When Hermione heard his voice again, she could've sworn that she heard a cold voice trying to be warm and soft; numerous times she saw a familiar smirk play at his pale lips. And silvery grey orbs shone around his pupils through the eye-holes.

Hermione perked up. She suddenly knew who it was that she had danced with the previous night.


	3. I Hate Everything About You

One of a Kind

**One of a Kind**

AN: Sorry for the delay, I'm rather upset with the lack of reviews! I want to know what you think! Reviews make me happy! By the way, if you haven't already guessed, Joanna and Hermione share a house.

**Chapter 3 – **I Hate Everything about You

(By Three Days Grace)

_Every time we lie awake  
After every hit we take  
Every feeling that I get  
But I haven't missed you yet_

Every roommate kept awake  
By every sigh and scream we make  
All the feelings that I get  
But I still don't miss you yet

Hermione heard Joanna's voice call her. She cleared away all the candles and potions that she used to confirm her suspicions about her mystery dancer. She hurriedly got dressed and ran downstairs.

Joanna looked rather impatient when Hermione finally came down.

'Finally! I've been waiting here forever, once again, thanks for agreeing to come with me. You know how much I hate shopping by myself?'

'Yeah, I do. Come on, let's go,' Hermione opened the door for Joanna and she and her best friend left the house

Hermione sighed as she waited patiently outside the Dress Robe shop. She decided that she didn't want to go in because then she'd get tempted to buy something.

She admired the finely embroidered golden silk dresses and the shining hot pink robes through the show-windows. She looked at the male section. The first thing that caught her eye was a long satin emerald robe, it had perfect golden stitches sewn along the sleeves and matching pants and a t-shirt to wear underneath.

Instantly she knew of one person who would wear something like that with pride…a particular Slytherin would had just happened to ask her to dance the previous night.

_Only when I stop to think about it_

I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you  
I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you

Every time we lie awake  
After every hit we take  
Every feeling that I get  
But I haven't missed you yet

Just as she turned around, she bumped into a tall, toned and muscular figure. He had reasonably long hair for a boy; it was a whitish yellow colour and hung over his cloudy silver eyes. And the previous night, he had asked Hermione to dance.

He glared at her for a few seconds, but she could tell that it was forced, he didn't really mean to.

'Watch where you're going, Mud-blood,' drawled a snide, horrible voice.

'Shut up, you're cover is blown. I know who you are; I know that it was you who danced with me last night. Don't try to deny it,' Hermione was thoroughly proud of herself.

'What are you rambling on about now, Granger?' He tried to act confused…he was no good at it.

Other than the previous night, it had been years since Hermione had seen this man. He had grown; his voice was deeper, his muscles larger and his body more tanned. And he was hot!

'You know very well what I'm talking about,'

_Only when I stop to think about it_

I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you  
I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you

Only when I stop to think  
About you, I know  
Only when you stop to think  
About me, do you know

'Okay, so what? Maybe it was me, what are you going to do about it?'

'Wait, are you admitting it?!'

'Granger, you are the smartest witch of our year, I knew at some point that you were going to figure it out,' He looked defeated and helpless.

It took Hermione a while to take it all in. So it was who she thought it was, the least likely person in the world had asked her to dance…she remembered the way he looked at her, those loving caring eyes gazing down on her, he liked her…and she knew it.

'Why? Why me?'

'My vision of people different to me was cloudy. My thoughts of people who weren't pure-bloods or of high status were blurred, thanks to my dad. But now he's gone, my life is no longer under his rule. I'm free to live my life as I wish, I'm free to live my life with you,' He said simply.

'What makes you think that I want to live _my_ life with you? All our childhood, you teased and taunted me, you hated me and I hated you, and I still do. Feelings that strong don't just disappear because some crazy lunatic gets locked away behind bars,'

'I never did hate you, I loved you,'

_I hate everything about you,  
Why do I love you?  
You hate everything about me,  
Why do you love me?_

I hate  
You hate  
I hate  
You love me

'Yeah, and my mom is Mary Poppins,' Hermione said sarcastically.

'I'm serious Hermione. I do love you,' He looked past her shoulder at the Dress Robe shop. 'I must go now,' He softly pecked her cheek and quickly bustled away and vanished amongst the crowd.

Hermione turned back to the shop just in time to see Joanna leave the doors, two huge bags in her hand. She watched the ex-Slytherin walk away; Joanna managed to get a glimpse of his face.

'Ooh, whose he?'

'Draco Malfoy.'

_I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you_

**AN:** Please review guys! It's quite a short chapter but anywayz!


	4. Thnks fr th Mmrs

**One of a Kind**

**AN: **So...do ya miss me? I'll bet you do, I'm also willing to bet that the majority of you thought I abandoned this along with some others, well you were right. But now you're wrong.  
Just cause I love proving people wrong :/ just kidding...mostly :P  
so my inspiration for this has died down a bit, but, in my opinion, my writing has matured as some of you may have realised, so...ENJOY!!

Chapter 4 - **Thnks fr th Mmrs **

I couldn't help myself, by the time Joanna and I got home, I found myself reminiscing. My annoyingly uncontrollable mind kept flashing back to my last year at Hogwarts. At the time, I would've told anyone that those were the best months of my life, now I wasn't quite so sure. Draco provided a sanctuary for me, he was my safe haven, when the war became too much, or if Ron's pestering got too bugging, Draco was the one I'd run to. I'd send him a note with the simple word: _Help?_, and he would meet me in the Room of Requirement where we would usually spend the night.

We didn't do anything...inappropriate, most of the time we just sat there, cuddled up in each other's arms staring into the fire. Sometimes we spoke, sometimes we laughed, sometimes we cried. It honestly just depended on what was going on that day, or that week.

Memories of one particular week flooded through my head, and me, being the vulnerable little idiot that I am, couldn't stop the flow of thoughts. And as usual, I wondered; _what if?_

_I closed my eyes in exasperation. If ever this was ever getting to be too much, it was now. How on Earth was anyone supposed to do this? How could anyone spend their life either a) worried about an oncoming war, or b) constantly rejecting your best friend because you were already secretly dating his worst enemy? I wondered every single day if it would just be better to tell everyone, and if not everyone, then at least Harry, Ginny and especially Ron. But I knew that wouldn't solve anything, Ron knowing about us would only break his heart even more, and I would risk him never speaking to me again, not to mention Harry and Ginny._

I'm gonna make you bend and break (it sent you to me without wings)  
Say a prayer, but let the good times roll  
In case God doesn't show (let the good times roll, let the good times roll)  
And I want these words to make things right  
But it's the wrongs that makes the words come to life  
Who does he think he is?  
If that's the worst you got better put your fingers back to the keys

_No, no matter what happened, me and Draco _had_ to be kept a secret. If word got to his father about this...well, he'd already be dead by the time it reached the rest of the school, and considering how quickly rumors spread in a place like this, that was saying a lot about the speed of Lucius's reactions_._ Seriously, it was like wildfire. Just a couple of days ago, Lavender 'thought' she overheard Ron and Harry going on about the 'difference between Cho and Ginny', when really, they were trying to figure out if they'd rather cast a huge Bubble-Head Charm with no outside help, or eat a bunch of Gillyweed. Yes, three years after the Triwizard Tournament Harry was still debating on what he should've done, but on a much larger scale, as if he'd ever need to go underwater for an hour again. And by the next day, Ginny was crying her eyes out because some Ravenclaw told her Harry was going to dump her for Cho because she was a better kisser. It took a lot of persuading from Harry and Ron, and a bit from me, to convince her that it was all rubbish_,_ a pathetic rumor started by the infinitely jealous Lavender Brown._

One night and one more time  
Thanks for the memories  
Even though they weren't so great  
He tastes like you only sweeter

_I had to do it, I couldn't keep this in. I had to let it out or my head might just burst from the inside out. From the hallway on the seventh floor, I watched Ron's retreating figure, and once he was out of earshot and eye-sight, I turned back the way I came and ran to the Fat Lady. But of course, being a witch in Hogwarts, I had to have the worst of luck. There was a huge crowd in front of the Fat Lady, a bunch of Gryffindors were trying to get in, apparently Neville had forgotten the password again and everyone else thought watching him make a fool of himself would be more amusing than just getting into the Common Room. I pushed through the crowd and found myself beside Neville Longbottom, I shoved him to the side and glared at the portrait of the Fat Lady._

"Flutterby Bush,_" I spat._

"Okay, okay, it's about time, enter." She rolled her eyes and swung open.

As I stormed into the Common Room and was about to run up the stairs to the Girl's Dormitory, I heard Neville say:

"I knew it had something to do with wings! Something with an F...oh wait, what was it again? Seamus, what was the password?"

I had already left before I head Seamus' answer, but I doubt it could've been pleasant. 

One night yeah and one more time  
Thanks for the memories  
Thanks for the memories  
See, He tastes like you only sweeter  
ooooooooh

_I slammed open the door, surprising Parvati who was sitting by the window closest by her bed, she seemed to just be aimlessly staring out at the scenery, but I knew her well enough to know something was up, I was just too irritated to care what it was at the time. Though I did make a mental note to ask her about it later. I unlocked my secret drawer with a few advanced spells and pulled it open, I grabbed my spare bit of magical parchment, enchanted so that only the person who was meant to read could open it. I scribbled down the words: 'Please help', and folded up the parchment. On the front I wrote DM and bewitched it to be written in green ink. I tapped the parchment with the tip of my wand and it disappeared, I knew that within the next few seconds it would appear in Draco's left hand. And tonight, at exactly 8:30, after we'd eaten dinner, he'd be waiting for me in the Room of Requirements on the purple couch by the fire._

I sighed and flopped down onto my bed, I groaned and rolled over. This life was just getting pathetic and pointless. The only few lessons worth going to now were Potions, DADA, Transfiguration and Herbology. Nothing else mattered anymore, all my other teachers were getting increasingly panicked about the slowly looming war and were getting skittier and...stranger every lesson. They didn't even teach us anymore, McGonagall managed to keep her calm, Snape always did, Dumbledore, our new DADA teacher, was always the perfect symbol of peace and serenity, and of course Sprout just had to shove a bunch of plants in our faces and make us tame them. Her job wasn't that hard. Sighing, I let my mind fill with thoughts of Draco, his silky blond hair, those deep grey eyes, his soft lips, the feel of his muscled chest under my fingers, and most of all...that voice_. In my opinion, it was the most beautiful thing on this planet. That's why I hated it whenever he spoke to other girls, I kept expecting them to suddenly realise just how melodic and perfect it was and out of nowhere just fall in love with him, kind of like I did two years ago. I let a soft smile play at my lips when I remembered the last time I met up with Draco the previous week, his hands running through my hair, his words floating over me like a lullaby, his head resting against mine..._

Before I realised what was happening, I fell asleep, and the last thing I thought of was Draco's face, smiling down at me. 

Been looking forward to the future  
But my eyesight is going bad  
And this crystal ball  
It's always cloudy except for (except for)  
When you look into the past (look into the past)  
One night stand  
One night stands out!

_After scarfing down the last of my pudding, much to Ginny's surprise and disgust, I ran out of the Great Hall, worriedly aware of the fact that it was already 8:25, and if I didn't run for my life, I'd be late. I've never been late, especially not for Draco._

I sprinted up the stairs, cursing every time they moved while I was on them, I had to re-direct my route at least 6 times before finally reaching the blank wall which soon turned into the familiar oak doors of the RoR. I pushed them open, and as usual, my breath caught. It seemed like the vast room was even more beautiful than the last time I was in there, but I knew that was rubbish, it was exactly the same each time, but somehow, I got the feeling that the beauty of the room symbolised my relationship with Draco. It seemed to be growing and blossoming even further, when in reality, we had reached our limit, we could never love each other more than how much we did at the time. Or so I thought.

I looked at the couch in front of the fire and saw the familiar sight of Draco's hair above the seat, resting against it. Just looking at him put a smile on my face, how was it possible for anyone to be so bloody perfect? I creeped up behind him, suddenly put my hands on his shoulders and stage-whispered in his ear:

"Boo."

He didn't so much as flinch. I frowned and jumped over the couch, I landed with a slight thud right next to him and looked up at him.

"You could've at least pretended to get scared, you know." I said in mock-serious tones.

He just looked at me with a weak smile, something was wrong, very very wrong. But I decided not to press him, he would tell me eventually. And if he didn't, then I may casually slip the question in.

"What's going on?" He asked me, his voice gentle and soft, and it had that same sweeping effect on me where I just felt like he was lifting me up off my feet and we were soaring through the air, but our hypothetical flying beings suddenly dropped when I detected the pain in his voice.

"Just the usual, Ron keeps bugging me, Neville forgot the bloody password again, Parvati's fighting with Lavender again and Harry and Ginny are having issues, something about the Sorting Hat, and I'm pretty sure she said something about Jam. I just - I needed you. I honestly thought this time I might've exploded."

"Now we wouldn't want that, now would we?" He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to his chest, he was wearing a thin shirt, I could feel his muscles through it and see his biceps bulging where the short sleeves ended. 

One night, and one more time  
Thanks for the memories  
Even though they weren't so great  
He tastes like you only sweeter

_I shook my head against his chest._

"No, not at all." I murmured.

Resting against him, I immediately found myself relaxing, my worries slipped away, all thoughts of everything, including Ron, just dissipated from my head. It wasn't fair that he got to do this to me when I couldn't. My bliss was short lived.

"Hermione, there's something I have to tell you. And you're not going to like it, I certainly didn't." 

One night, yeah one more time  
Thanks for the memories  
Thanks for the memories  
See, He tastes like you only sweeter

_I looked up at him, this didn't sound good._

"What's wrong, Draco?" I asked him, praying that whatever it is, it wouldn't affect us. This was me being selfish, but when you had someone like Draco in your grasp, you'd be an idiot to let him go.

He took a deep breath. "You know how...I have this diary right?"

I nodded and looked at him warily.

"Well, I write everything in there. Everything. You know that. And I have all sorts of protective charms and spells on it. You know that too. I've done everything I can to stop people from reading it." He closed his eyes. "A couple of days ago, father heard me and mother talking. I was complaining about him, Voldermort just set him on this task, he was supposed to torture information out of someone. I was telling my mom that she had to try to stop him. Father...he thinks I'm getting out of hand. He thinks I may have an outside influence, so he started snooping around my room, trying to find some evidence of me being under the Imperius Curse."

My breath caught, I was getting scared, really really scared.

"He...he found my diary. At first he would've just flicked through it, wouldn't have paid it any attention, but then he realised that it wasn't that simple. He would have to counter the charms and spells first. And you know how people are. When they can't have something, they want it more. So he got around the charms, it took him hours to do it, but he did. And he read everything, everything about us, everything about my...eavesdropping addiction. And well...he's pulling me out of Hogwarts. He's going to hire a private teacher to home-school me." By this point, his voice was choked, my eyes were filled and his arms were clenched around me. 

They say I only think in the form of  
Crunching numbers in hotel rooms  
Collecting page six lovers  
Get me out of my mind  
Gets you out of those clothes  
I'm a line away from  
Getting you into the mood (wa-ooooohhh)

_  
"When - when are you going?" I knew there was no point in complaining_,_ there was no point in trying to persuade him to stay, I knew he couldn't do anything, he didn't want to go._  
_  
"End of term."_

My eyes widened. The end of term? That was a week and a half away! I had a week and a half_ left to spend with Draco!_

And despite myself, I had to ask. "Do you have to go?"

"Do you think I want to?!" He pushed me aside and stood up, pacing the room, his fingers interlocked behind me.

This was what I feared.

"Of course not, Draco, but I had to ask. I don't think...I can't bear..." I looked down, at a loss for words. "I can't lose you."

"You won't, I'll keep in touch, Hermione, I swear. 

One night, One more time  
Thanks for the memories  
Even though they weren't so great  
He tastes like you only sweeter

_"Of course you will, I'll hunt you down myself if you don't, and I mean that."_

"I know you do." He sat back next to me and took me in his arms. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"Don't talk like that, Draco, it's not like we're never going to see each other ever again."

"Of course not." I should've realised at the time that there was something off in his voice, I was just too preoccupied with the thought of us being separated.

"I mean, the same rules apply to home-schooling right? You still get holidays the same time we do? We can still see each other, it won't be that different."

"Hermione, there's something I want us to do before I leave."

"Yeah, sure, anything." 

One night, Yeah One more time  
Thanks for the memories  
Thanks for the memories  
See, He taste like you only sweeter

_I've never known what it was like to be in Harry's shoes, but at that moment, having every single bloody person in Hogwarts staring at us, I finally knew. Draco couldn't seem to care less, maybe because he knew that he would only have to endure this for another week, but I had the rest of the year._

The last major thing he wanted to do was go public. He said it was because he wanted to leave with a bang, he wanted to leave having the entire school knowing exactly what kind of person he really was. But I knew somewhere deep inside that it had something to do with the fact that it would really piss his father off. There was no doubt that owls would be sent from certain students, telling their parents what a 'miracle' this was, Slytherin students would definitely be among those students. I was smart enough to know that Lucius would absolutely hate knowing that all his Death Eater buddies knew that his son was dating a Muggle-born. It would irritate the hell out of him, I could see Draco's appeal, I just wish he'd tell me instead of what he thought I wanted to hear.

Of course, I didn't realise at the time that I was wrong as I've ever been about anything. 

One more night and one more time  
thanks for the memories  
even though they werent so great  
he tastes like you only sweeter

_"Shut up."_

"But - "

"No, I said stop it. Stop it right now."

"'Mione, just listen - "

"NO! I said STOP IT! You've been lying to me! All this time! ME!_ You _let_ me believe that your dad wanted you gone! You _let _me believe that you didn't want to leave!"_

"Look this is all just a huge misunderstanding!"

"No, it's not Draco, you lied to me. It's as simple as that. Before I make a dramatic exit and storm out with tears on my face, can I ask you something?"

Draco hesitated, that pause killed me, it broke something inside of me, I didn't even know why.

"Yes..."

"Did you ever really love me?"

"..."

That silence was all I needed. 

One night, One more time  
Thanks for the memories  
Thanks for the memories  
See, he tastes like you only sweeter

Breaking out of my reverie, I realised I had wandered into my room and was standing out on the balcony, gazing at the beautiful scenery. It's one of the many things I've always loved about this place, the location. It was situated almost right next to the beach, it provided the perfect view of the ocean waves and the sun setting. It was one of my favorite pastimes to just sit there on the balcony for hours, thinking or reading, sometimes both.

But after remembering one of the hardest times of my life, I was brought back to the question that has haunted me since that day I found out that Draco lied to me. What if he really did love me? What if his mother didn't hate me? What if is father really did take him out of Hogwarts? What if I never found out about the dare? What if Blaise never really did say a word to me like he was supposed to? What if Daphne and I didn't become best friends? What if Pansy Parkinson wasn't such a bloody big mouth? What if Ginny never died? What if I never met Joanna at Fred's funeral? What if Harry saved the world like he was supposed to?

What if, what if, what if, _what if_?! It really was infuriating. My life was made up of a series of unfortunate twists and turns, some for the better, some for the worse, some caused tears, some brought life, some took souls. What if everything turned out the way it was supposed to? What would happen then?

Well, I wouldn't be where I am today, wondering whether I should kill Draco Malfoy the next time I see him, or torture him.

**AN:** Not much to say except, of course, I'M SOO SORRY ABOUT THE DELAY!! And I hope I haven't disappointed anyone with this! I really tried not to.  
I'd like to be able to blame it on writer's block, work, and family issues, and that actually does have quite a bit to do with it, but that wouldn't exactly be the entire truth.  
As some of you may know, I've started a bunch of new stories, and I've actually completed them, and I'll be posting even more, so I seem to have neglected all my old stories.  
Well, some news that may make some of you happy little ducklings, I'm updating ALL of my old stories!!!! I'm adding sequels to some that people have requested for, and I'm adding more to existing ones!  
I'm excited, dreading the complain-type reviews, but still excited :P  
You may have forgotten, but just reminding you...  
Reviews are LOVED and APPRECIATED!!

**;]  
XD**


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